Transcript Mesopotamia (1)

Ancient Middle East
(Mesopotamia and Empires)
What is in a name?


The word Mesopotamia is
Greek meaning- people of
between the rivers
Mesopotamia is one of the
earliest centers of urban
civilization
– Found in the area of modern
Iraq and eastern Syria
between the Tigris and
Euphrates rivers

The early people were
Sumerians and they were
believed to be nomads.
What was there prior?

The site were chosen because it was
believed to be sacred land.
– Temples were built
– Sacrifice to the gods were held there
– Pilgrimage

Soon religious leaders requested bigger
temples
– Lead to more pilgrimage and tithes.

Stories tell of the city of Eridu created by
the God Marduk (text date to 3800 BCE)
From Protection to Cities
The need for selfdefense and irrigation
led the ancient
Mesopotamians to
organize and build
canals and walled
settlements.
 The city of Uruk is
believed the oldest city
in this region.

– First discovery was the
Ubaid Temple (4900
BCE
City-states/ Kings and Warlords

Mesopotamia was composed 
a number of city-states
(independent urban centers
and the surrounding

territories)
At first, the cities were
governed by elected
officials, (religious leaders)
Originally, leaders were
priests
– Kish, Eridu, Nippur, Ur, Uruk,
– En=man
and Sumer
– Nin=woman
– A city-state controlled a large
city and the surrounding areas.  but later, because

of war,
Because of Specialization and they were “lugal” or big
competition the City-states
man
were in constant competition
and war.
– Today we call them kings.
Once protected…city-states
flourished

Constant building
created great cities
– The lack of rocks
pushed the Sumerians
to us clay.
– Ziggurat or
Mesopotamian
pyramids were built to
show power.

Important inventions
– Writing called
cuneiform
– Wheel
– Irrigation systems
– Potter’s wheel
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The inventions and
building required
organized
governments.
Sumerian Inventions
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Cuneiform writing
The wheel
 Potter’s wheel
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Sailing ship
Pick-axe
Brick mold
Glass
60-based counting system: 60
minutes to an hour, 360 degrees
to a circle
Number positioning
Epic poetry
Sumerian Schools
Literacy was a highly valued skill
 Sumerians set up first institutions of
formal education: edubba
 Education included writing and
mathematics
 Tuition paid for education
 Educated were privileged elite:
government officials, scribes, etc.
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Writing
Tablet of pre-cuneiform script
South Mesopotamia
Uruk III, end of 4th millenium BC.
Clay (?sun-baked clay)
Louvre
•Why
•Record Keeping
•Trade
•Laziness
Steps

Pictograms
– Laziness led to
simple abstract
drawings
– Written up and down
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Abstract elements
then turned 90
degrees and wrote
left to right
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A number system is
also important
– Dashes or ticks were
first used then a
number system
Other languages

Egyptians
– Hieroglyphics
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Chinese
– Characters

Indo-Aryans
– Sand script

Semitic groups
– Aramaic
Evolution
First pictograms
represented items
(nouns)
 Abstract kept same
principles
 Prefixes and suffixes
were added to show
meaning or intent
(verbs)
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Abstract then
represented sounds
– First all consonants
– Then added vowels
Finally we have an
alphabet
 From over 400
pictures to 26 letters
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The Rise of an Empire
(Sumer and Akkadian Empire)
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Sargon of Akkad (ca 2350
BCE),
– became a powerful official of
the city of Kish.
– Story is similar to that of
Moses
– Gilgamesh (most famous
Ruler of Uruk)
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He seized power from the
king and with an army
conquered Akkad.
His mighty army soon
conquered Sumer
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Sargon and his
successors controlled
most of Mesopotamia for
ca 75 years.
– First Dynasty
– Believed Sumer customs
were adopted
The Third Dynasty of UR
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Consisted of 5 kings who
ruled for 100 years.
Accomplished by a
combination of military
campaigns/ conquests
and marriages.
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The Dynasty created tight
government control and
helped the development of
the infrastructure
– Roads, communication systems,
record keeping, standardized
weights
– Great city walls and structures
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Due to nomadic incursions
and Elamite attacks, The Ur
Dynasty fell.
Babylon and the Amorites
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A new city emerged as a
powerful center
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– Created by the Amorites
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Babylon had strict codes
thanks to King
Hammurabi (r. 17921750 BCE)
– Hammurabi’s Code
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Aggressive military
campaigns brought about
the next empire the “Old
Babylonian State”
The Babylonian Empire
was the larger than the
Sumer/Akkad Empire
– Hammurabi’s code create
a template for society to
grow and flourish
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Trade and commerce
grew to create centers of
luxury and excess.
Mesopotamian Society
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3 class system
– The free, landowning
class
 Royalty, high ranking
officials, warriors, priests,
merchants, and some
artisans and shopkeepers
– Dependent farmers and
artisans
 Legally attached to the
land that belonged to kink
or temple (work force
– Slave class
 Primarily employed in
domestic service
Social class was
important as it dictated
authority and
punishment
 Because of education we
know life of the elite but
not from anyone else
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Women
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Lost power and rights in a male dominated
society
– Men did heavy work leaving women to child bearing
and rearing
– No political role but could own property
– Controlled dowries
– Engage in trade
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Some worked outside the house
– Textile factories, breweries, tavern keepers, bakers,
fortune tellers.
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By 2000 BCE more power and laws favored men
– Divorce was given if women did not produce children
– Or could take a second wife (as long as he could
afford it)
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Families used women as instruments of society
– Marrying them to other families or for deity service
Chronology of Mesopotamia
Time
Period
3500 BCE
3000 BCE
Ruling Powers
2500 BCE
Akkadian (Semitic ) 2350-2230 BCE –Sargon
2000 BCE
Third Dynasty of Ur (Sumerian) 2112-1600
BCE
Amorites (Old Babylon-Semitic) 1900-1600
BCE - Hammurabi
1500 BCE
Early Dynastic (Sumerian) 3000-2350 BCE
I
Egypt and the Nile Delta
AMH
UHS
Mr. Moran
The Gift of the Nile

Another River-Valley
civilization developed
on the Nile River in
Africa.
– Egypt was protected
by surrounding
barriers that allowed it
to flourish
 Desert
 No harbors
 Marshy sea coast
Where Mesopotamia
was open to trade
and cultural diffusion,
Egypt developed a
special society which
was self-sufficient and
unique
 For long periods of
time had nothing to
do with other
civilizations
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The Nile River
Is the longest river in
the world
 It begins in Lake
Victoria and ends at
the Mediterranean
Sea.
 Flows northward
which confuses many
people.

The river creates a
green fertile strip of
land that is
surrounded by desert
 The river, is believed,
to have carved out
the valley through out
the years.
 The valley always
flooded in September.
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Migration to the River
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Unlike Mesopotamia were cities were
created because of trade centers, the
change in climate and growth of the desert
moved hunter-gatherers to the river.
– Here nomads became farmers who depended
on domestic animals and foods
– Clay and bamboo were abundant for building
and fertile land provide a variety of foods.
– The river also provided fish and other wild life
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The Nile became the primary source of
food, transportation, and communication
Divine Kingship
With the increase of population, small
local areas developed kings; similar to the
evolutionary theory
 However, the conquest of the small
kingships lead to the creation of three
major Epoch of Egypt
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– Old Kingdoms (2575-2134 BCE)
– Middle Kingdoms (2040- 1640 BCE)
– New Kingdoms (1532- 1070 BCE)
Pharaohs
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The central figure in the
Egyptian state was the
Pharaoh or King
– He was believed to be a god
who came down to earth
– He was there to maintain ma’at
or divinely authority over the
universe
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He was the link between the
people and the gods and
ensured the welfare of the
people
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The concept of divine king
was the source of law and
justice, there fore there
were no written laws similar
to Hammurabi’s code
In an attempt to satisfied
the gods, great resources
were use to ensure the well
being of the pharaohs spirit
upon death
– This lead to the building of
the pyramids
Capitals and Administrations
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Capitals were picked  The main purpose of the
by the ruling
government was to keep
dynasties.
detailed records and
collect revenue
– Memphis was the
capital of the lower
Nile
 Capital of Old Kingdom
– Thebes was the capital
of the upper Nile
 Middle and New
Kingdoms
– The bureaucracy starts at
the village level to the
central government.
– Kept track of labor, land,
products, and people.
– The focus is revenue
– Revenue was use to run
the palace, government,
and army
Religion
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Egyptians believe that the
natural world was a place
of recurrent cycles and
periodic renewal.
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– The sun god Re traveled
across the sky every day.
– Believed in the after life;
story of Osiris.
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Polytheistic Religion
To appease the gods
temples were built or
decorated with lavish gifts
– Many towns had temples
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Gods had animal heads
while others had human
bodies
Cult practices occurred in
side the temple
Festivals were held to
celebrate special occasions.
The Afterlife

Egyptians were very adamant about the afterlife
and the preparations needed for safe passage to
the next world.
– The process of mummification is an Egyptian trade
mark though other cultures used it.
Tombs had great treasure and personal items
believed to be necessary for afterlife.
 Tombs usually reflected the wealth and stature
of the individual
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– Kings had great tombs
– Common folk had to settle for pit graves or small
mud-brick chambers.
Middle East
(1700-1100 BCE)
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Babylon was one of the
most important cities of
the ancient world
– Babylon means “Gate of
God”